Today: Check into Paris's latest three-star: the Hotel Observatoire Luxembourg has undergone a full renovation and delivers a dose of playful design to the Left Bank, with oriental-style lanterns and boudoir décor (observatoirehotel.com).

This week: Z Hotels launches in London on Monday. The Soho flagship has smart, functional doubles from £70 per night (thezhotels.com). Also in the capital on Monday, the Lancaster London hotel is hosting a honey show. The hotel is home to 10 beehives on its roof and produces its own honey (londonbees.com). In Dubai, Melia is opening a five-star city centre hotel on Wednesday, with five restaurants and a spa (melia-dubai.com).

In the diary: This time next year, you could be pedalling to Istanbul on an 18,000 mile trip. The first fully supported round-the-world cycle ride is being offered to 30 cyclists and a handful of stage participants. Departing from London next September, it will follow a nine-month route through Turkey, Pakistan, India, Thailand, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, the US and Portugal (worldcyclechallenge.com).

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